Overview:
Rather than compose a throw away piece of writing to be posted and
forgotten, I would like you to do some genuine research about the lasting impact
of Jane Austen and her novel on today’s audience. Please choose one of the following prompts
and compose an essay using at least five different sources of material. Please use MLA format and include a works
cited page. YOU MUST CRAFT YOUR OWN QUERY FROM THE IDEAS BELOW.
Marriage
Compare how ninteenth-century society viewed marriage with
how marriage is viewed today. What might account for the differences? How have society’s views of marriage and
divorce changed since your grandparents were young? Research two cultures from around the world
and compare it in the context of Austen’s work (avoid generalizations, please).
Cultural
Why do you think Jane Austen’s novels continue to be read
almost 200 years after they were written?
Have you seen any of the movies or TV miniseries made in the 1990s that
are based on Austen’s novels? Research two cultures from around the world and
compare it in the context of Austen’s work (avoid generalizations, please).
Socio-economic
After completing the novel, have the students investigate
social/cultural institutions and attitudes. Look back in the novel to identify
passages in which Austen addresses the English class system. What is Austen’s
attitude toward the English class system? Look at the Bennets’ parenting styles
and the family life in the Bennet household. What do these descriptions suggest
about Austen’s attitudes about family life? Research two cultures from around
the world and compare it in the context of Austen’s work (avoid generalizations,
please).
Women’s Rights
Jane Austen: Social Critic? In a scene earlier in the novel,
Elizabeth implores Mr. Collins to treat her as “a rational creature speaking
the truth from her heart.” Her statement seems to echo Mary Wollstonecraft, an
author whose writings marked the beginning of the women’s rights movement. The
well-read Austen would have been familiar with Wollstonecraft’s landmark work,
Vindication of the Rights of Woman, published in 1792. This popular book
challenged the prevailing idea that a woman’s purpose in life was to please
men. Wollstonecraft claimed that, as mental equals, women should have the same
opportunities in education, work, and politics as men. None of Austen’s female
characters “rocks the boat” the way Wollstonecraft did. Elizabeth Bennet,
however, like other Austen heroines, is an intelligent woman of depth and
substance. As you finish reading the novel, think about Elizabeth in relation
to her society. Does she seem to accept society’s limits on her as a woman? How
do you think Austen views the restrictions on her heroine? Do you think her
purpose in writing the novel was merely to entertain, or did her work contain a
deeper message of social criticism? Research
two cultures from around the world and compare it in the context of Austen’s
work (avoid generalizations, please).
Fandom
Jane Austen has had a fan club for over 100 years. In the
late 1800s, the first publication of an Austen biography and collected edition
of her novels led to a boom of interest in Jane Austen. Many of these early
admirers were interested in her characters and in Austen herself. Austen
acquired more scholarly admirers in the twentieth century, when many critics
highlighted her mastery of language, plot, and irony. Today, a Jane Austen
Society exists in both Great Britain and North America. Austen’s modern-day
fans appreciate her novels as literature, but they are also fascinated by the
era that shaped Jane Austen’s life and writings. The Jane Austen Society of
North America was founded in 1979. Its members’ interests range from publishing
scholarly papers on Austen’s works to re-creating dinner parties and balls like
those attended by her characters.
Research the fan bases around the world.
What is it that unifies us? Research
two cultures from around the world and compare it in the context of Austen’s
work (avoid generalizations, please).
The Jane Austen Centre
The Jane Austen Society of North
America
Jane Austen’s World
Janeites: The curious American
cult of Jane Austen
Harvard University Press: Includes all the major works, articles, etc.
From Goodreads: The Best Jane Austen Fan Fiction
Trevor Albano
ReplyDeleteJane Austen Marriage Research Explication
Mr. Pellerin
Being married in the 19th century is much more different than being married today. Partners in marriage weren’t considered to be equals, in fact “The laws in Britain were based on the idea that women would get married and that their husbands would take care of them. Before the passing of the 1882 Married Property Act, when a woman got married her wealth was passed to her husband. If a woman worked after marriage, her earnings also belonged to her husband.” (Simkin). One of the effects of the Married Woman’s Property Act was the rise of divorce rates. “In England before 1880, the number of divorces in a single year had only rarely risen above 300, after 1882 it only once fell below that number. Divorces continued to rise year on year to over 1000 divorces by the First World War. After women received the vote in 1918, the number of divorces rose again, tripling within two years (although this is also partly a reflection of post-war instability).” (Married). In the 20th century there was a way to test if a marriage was going to work, called trial marriages. “In the 1920’s trial marriages were established that allowed a couple to try a marriage without actually being married; not having kids or any lifelong financial commitments. In a way it was simply two people of the opposite sex living in the same quarters however for the time, it was a new concept and was one of the first ways in which the law tried to accommodate prenuptial contracts.” (Cooperative). In the present day divorce is more common “The medium length of marriage in the US these days is around 11 years, and divorce rates have been rising steadily throughout the 20th century.” (Cooperative). Marriage is also different in other areas in the world, “In India, arranged marriages still remain the majorly preferred way for Indians to enter into matrimony.” (Know). The divorce rate in India is very low with this type of marriage practice, “1.36 million people in India are divorced. That is equivalent to 0.24% of the married population, and 0.11% of the total population.” (Biswas).
Works Cited
Biswas, Soutik. “What divorce and separation tell us about modern India.” BBC News, BBC, 29 Sept. 2016, www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-37481054.
Cooperative, History. “The History Of Divorce Law In The USA.” History Cooperative, 18 Sept. 2016, historycooperative.org/the-history-of-divorce-law-in-the-usa/.
“Know All About Arranged Marriage In India!” In India - Facts, Customs, Processes & Significance - An Essay, www.culturalindia.net/weddings/arranged-marriage.html.
“Married Women’s Property and Divorce in the 19th Century.” Women's History Network, 25 July 2010, womenshistorynetwork.org/married-womens-property-and-divorce-in-the-19th-century/
Simkin, John. “Marriage in the 19th Century.” Spartacus Educational, Spartacus Educational, Feb. 2015, spartacus-educational.com/Wmarriage.htm.